1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical cable and wire support brackets and devices. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an improved cable support member that includes a central support portion for preventing cables supported by the bracket from becoming entangled with one another.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a result of the tremendous growth in the telecommunications and electronics industry, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of electrical cables and wires that are installed and routed in buildings both above and below ceilings as well as between wall cavity spaces. Safety considerations as well as many existing building codes dictate that these wires and cables be supported at regular intervals.
There are currently a wide variety of cable supporting brackets and devices available in the prior art. The majority of these devices provide some supporting contact point for connection to either an overhead support or wall support in order to provide vertical support for the cable. Typical conventional cable support designs include, for example, such things as U or J-shaped members that include holes in a side portion for securing the cable support to an adjacent wall or ceiling member. Other prior art solutions include simple wire members or hangers that provide a convenient loop for securing one or more cables and/or wires.
One shortcoming of existing cable support designs is that currently there is no known cable supporting bracket or device that is available for supporting multiple cables while also preventing undesired entanglement of the cables within the support or bracket. For example, one such design of the prior art is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cable support 12 of the prior art is comprised of a hook or j-shaped member 12 that includes centrally located holes 14 in an upper portion thereof for securing the cable support mechanism to an adjacent wall or ceiling or related supporting structure. In this prior art cable support design electrical wires or cables are inserted into the trough of the j-shaped member where they may be supported by the bottom and side walls of the trough. Multiple cables or wires may be inserted into this space to thereby provide support for these cables. In this design, a further cable securing member is removably inserted into an opening formed at the end of the j-shaped member. The cable securing member prevents wires and cables from inadvertently being displaced from the trough.
Accordingly, with this design, both wires and cables may be secured within the trough of the j-shaped member. The location of the wires and/or cables ensures that the wires and/or cables do not inadvertently become dislodged from their desired position. One shortcoming of this existing design as well as other prior art designs that provide a common trough location is that the cables and wires located within the cable support member may be undesirably overlapped or otherwise entangled with one another. This can result in confusion or difficulty in accessing the particular one of the cables located within the cable support member. There are currently no known support members for supporting multiple cables and/or wires from either a horizontal or vertical location which also provide the ability to prevent the undesired entanglement of the cables and/or wires located within the support bracket.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for an improved cable support which provides support for one or more cables and/or wires on either a horizontal or vertical surface wherein the cables and/or wires located and secured within the support are not susceptible to becoming entangled with one another. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a cable supporting bracket that advantageously is capable of securing multiple cables and/or wires to an adjacent support while also ensuring that the cables do not become entangled with one another. Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a cable supporting bracket or device that allows a user to easily insert multiple cables and/or wires into the bracket. Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a cable supporting bracket or device that allows a user to readily identify and access a selected one of multiple wires and/or cables located within the supporting bracket. Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved cable support mechanism which can be easily secured so that cables located or supported by the support bracket will not inadvertently become dislodged from the support member.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and follow, in light of the following Summary and Detailed Description of the Presently Preferred Embodiments.
The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical support brackets. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an improved electrical cable support member which is capable of supporting multiple electrical cables while also ensuring that the cables do not become entangled when they are located within the support bracket.
In accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the improved cable support is comprised of a first bracket portion which may be secured to an adjacent wall or ceiling support. In the preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the bracket portion is secured by at least one and preferably more than one screws, nails or bolts that are fixed to an adjacent wall or ceiling support through one of the orifices that are preferably generally centrally located along the bracket support portion of the overall cable and/or wire support member.
In accordance with the preferred exemplary embodiment, a U or j-shaped member extends horizontally outward from this bracket support portion in order to provide a support for one or a plurality of cables and/or wires to be located within the bracket support. One end of the j-shaped member is spaced apart from the bracket to allow sufficient space for a user of the cable bracket to readily insert cables and/or wires within the space defined by the j-shaped member. Advantageously, in accordance with the preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a further central support arm extends horizontally outward from the bracket portion of the cable support into a central region of the j-shaped member. This member essentially substantially bisects the central cavity formed by the U or J-shaped member.
This central support arm advantageously prevents individual cable members from becoming entangled with one another when they are located within the cable support of the present invention. A further advantage of the preferred exemplary embodiment is that the central support arm adds support for the cables that are located within the j-shaped member while also separating the cables and/or wires. In an alternate configuration, the central support arm extends from a central portion of the base in parallel with the remaining arms of the j-shaped portion of the cable support in order to provide the desired separation between adjacent cable members located within the cable support of the present invention.
Additionally, in accordance with a further aspect of the invention disclosed in the preferred exemplary embodiment a locking tab member extends from the bracket support portion of the cable support which has sufficient flexibility to seal the space between the end of the U or j-shaped member and the bracket support, thereby securing each of the cable members within the cable support. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this element is unnecessary, especially when only a limited member of cables and/or wires are located within the cable support of the present invention.
In accordance with the preferred, exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cable support member of the present invention is advantageously stamp formed from metal, such as, for example, 14 gauge galvanized steel. The stamp forming allows the steel to be readily shaped into the desired configuration. Advantageously, stamp forming allows rapid manufacture of many cable support members in a very short period of time. Additionally, this form of manufacturing these devices is preferred due to the limited expense of this process.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other manufacturing processes and types of materials maybe utilized as well for manufacturing the cable and/or wire support members of the present invention. For example, the parts of the present invention may be formed from other types of metals as well as plastics, fiberglass or any other suitable material with sufficient structural characteristics for supporting wires and/or cables. As noted, these devices may be stamp formed from a unitary body of material. Alternatively, individual components or portions of the overall product may be separately formed and combined into a single structure.